After hours of gruelling practice, the
Cricket XI were all set to prove their
skills in their first match against the
Mini Mount Club on Sunday, the 14th of
April.
Our team won the toss and elected to
field first. The opening pair, Rakesh and
Bhupendra formed a formidable
partnership, the biggest challenge coming
from Rakesh, who accelerated the run rate
with three sixes and one four, not to
mention the twos and the singles that
came off his bat.
The partnership lasted for 40 runs when
Rakesh was dismissed by Pranav Sah, in
the 14th over. One more wicket fell
before the drinks interval. At this point
of time, the run rate was well above six.
After the drinks, K. Tanwar claimed a
scalp on the first ball. Mention must be
made that the bowling was very economical
with G. Bajetha limiting the runs to 12
in his 5 overs, picking up a crucial
wicket; R. Dhillon gave away 35 runs, but
picked up two wickets while A. Choubey
claimed two wickets for 21 runs.
Useful contributions in the batting side
came from Bhupendra (26), Prakash (29)
and Saheed (27). The scoreboard finally
stood at 184 runs which did not seem to
be a difficult target in 35 overs.
P. Sah and H.S. Bhattacharya opened for
the bowlers. Initially, scoring was slow
with a run rate of just over 3 per over.
Two quick dismissals followed - P.Sah and
K. Tanwar, who got caught trying to pull
the ball on the leg side. The loss of K.
Tanwar's wicket put the team under
pressure, and brought the captain R.
Dhillon on to the pitch with a great
responsibility on his shoulders.
R. Dhillon accelerated the run rate by
hitting a six and a four and numerous
twos. H.S. Bhattacharya was run out
trying to extract a single after scoring
27 runs.
The asking rate went down with the entry
of A. Jathoul, who came in, hitting
boundaries all round the wicket, but was
caught behind trying to play square on
the off.
The quick fall of two wickets put even
greater pressure on the captain, who was
caught trying to hit a boundary with his
score at 34. This was disastrous and
asking rate went up with 43 runs to be
scored off 32 balls.
The match seemed doomed to slip out of
our hands, until the entry of S.S. Gill,
who, with his quick fire 26 pulled us out
of certain defeat and turned the tide in
our favour. We needed sixteen runs in two
overs, and this we achieved comfortably
scoring two sixes and one four.
As far as the bowling of the opponents
went, Saheed yielded just 15 runs and
picked up two wickets, Rakesh picked up
two wickets for 31 runs and Francis got
two wickets for 36 runs.
Eventually, the College XI won the match
with two wickets in hand.
Abhimanyu Rawat
XI B
CRICKETERS'
YOUNGSTERS XI
Everything from the clear blue skies to
the upbeat spirit of the home side
promised an exciting day of cricket. And
exciting it was!
Having lost the toss, we were put in to
field first. At the onset of the match,
some tight bowling from the opening pair
of bowlers ensured that the visitors were
reeling at 28 runs for the loss of three
wickets. However, Pawan Sah, who
eventually went on to score over a 100
runs, and Bhaskar Sah put a price on
their wickets, as the Sherwood bowlers
toiled hard to end their partnership.
Finally, M. Singh got the crucial
breakthrough, trapping B. Sah leg before
wicket.
The Cricketers' XI kept scoring briskly
as Sherwood bowlers tried every trick in
the book to contain them. The visitors
finally finished their innings, posting
an imposing total of 253.
Surpassing this total would never have
been easy. We lost three wickets in quick
succession as the top order tried to give
us a flying start. Nevertheless, K.
Tanwar's coming to the crease gave some
stability to our innings. In tandem with
R. Dhillon, he gave a new impetus to our
chase, combining caution with some gutsy
stroke play. R. Dhillon eventually top
scored for Sherwood with 62 runs.
A. Choubey came in to bat when the odds
were stacked against us as the required
run rate continually soared sky high. Not
crumbling under mounting pressure, he
went on to post a score of 42 runs which
saw four shots cross the fence.
A. Jeremiah came in to bat with the
requisite run rate still in the demanding
target of nine. Yet, he showed great
composure and resolve as he whacked the
ball all over the ground, scoring 48 runs
in half as many balls, succeeding in
scoring 10 runs off the last over to pull
off a spectacular win.
Mention must be made of the bowlers, too,
who toiled to restrict the opposition
total, although they were up against a
formidable batting line up.
Dhruv B. Paul
XII A
SHERWOOD VS.
SHEELA MOUNT JR.
After gruelling practice, the team was
all set for a go against Sheela Mount,
but they little realised that they were
up against one of the best teams in town.
The openers of the other team came out to
play with a confident frame of mind, but
the team was not going to allow the
disappointment of losing the toss to
discourage them. However, the onslaught
started from the very first over and
within a space of four overs, the
visitors had notched up a solid 50 runs.
It was not too late for Sherwood to
strike when the captain came up with a
breakthrough. Now the Sherwood team
struck at regular intervals.
Towards the end of the first innings, the
Sherwood team experienced something they
had never faced before-five overs for 75
runs! By the end of the opponents'
innings, the school team found that 228
was to be chased.
With pressure mounting at every moment,
the openers from Sherwood started on a
very nervous note. In the second over,
the left-handed H.S. Bhattacharya
misjudged a shot only to be caught by the
wicketkeeper. After this came the deluge,
as one after the other, wickets fell in
rapid succession.
The only resistance to the attacking
bowlers came from S.S. Gill (30 runs -
2sixes, 1 four) and A.S. Jathoul (28 runs
- 3 sixes). The bowlers of Sheela Mount
tore through the defence and exposed the
weaknesses.
Sherwood collapsed for a meagre 130 runs,
leaving Sheela Mount clear winners.
Sanjit Samanta XI B
SHERWOOD VS. O.S.
DELHI TEAM
The school faced the O.S. team from Delhi
on May 5th. The weather was bright and
clear, with for coming in later on during
the day, though the weather did not pose
much of a problem during the match.
Winning the toss, Sherwood elected to bat
first. The openers, S.Upreti and A.P.S.
Bains, gave the team a flying start,
scoring 18 and 27 runs, respectively. The
extras given away by the O.S. added to
the score generously! The run rate was
kept up to seven per over by the batsmen
that came later, which included K. Tanwar
and R. Dhillon, during whose inning we
got to see some exquisite shots played
all round the wicket, the only
obstruction coming from the enthusiastic
O.S. wicketkeeper, S. Mali. K. Tanwar
played a scintillating innings, making 61
runs, which included four outstanding
sixes, while R. Dhillon made 27 runs.
Futile attempts to make quick runs in the
last few overs after the dismissal of K.
Tanwar resulted in the loss of numerous
wickets in quick succession, although the
tail-enders added their own bit to the
score, at the end of which the Sherwood
score stood at 173 for the loss of eight
wickets, in 25 overs.
The O.S. team opener, Gokul, was sent
back to the pavilion in the first over
itself, by R. Dhillon, who also went on
to take the second wicket in his second
over. By lunch time their score stood at
42 runs for two wickets, in seven overs,
which was quite a good score. After lunch
R. Sood, the Captain, was sent back, at
21 runs, by a spectacular catch taken by
S.S. Gill in the over of A. Bhatt.
After the fall of the fourth wicket
started the downfall. During this session
could seen a lot of good strokes, though
no one of the opposition succeeded in
staying at the crease for long. The
bowling was aggressive, with K. Tanwar
picking up three wickets (unfortunately
failing to obtain a hat trick), R.
Dhillon picking up two wickets and A.
Bhatt two wickets.
The match finally came to an end with P.
Sah's taking a magnificent catch at the
boundary. The visitors' innings was
wrapped up at 102 runs, and Sherwood won
the match by 71 runs.
Abhirath Sah
XII A
SHERWOOD VS.
M.Y.C. REDS
Sherwood VS. M.Y.C. Reds was the last
cricket match if the season. The home
team, having won the toss, chose to bet.
The opening pair failed to give us a good
start, but A.P.S. Bains proved his mettle
with a glorious essay of 67 runs. He,
together with K. Tanwar, notched up a
century stand for the first wicket. K.
Tanwar played a gritty knock of 96 runs,
4 shy of a century. Nevertheless, the duo
showed great tenacity in the face of
mounting pressure due to the loss of an
early wicket; they entertained the
spectators and frustrated the bowling
attack with a wide array of flashy shots
in their scintillating partnership.
After their exit, R. Dhillon and S.S.
Gill came into the middle and controlled
the situation, which might have
degenerated into a batting collapse.
Between them, they put on a well-paced 40
runs. P. Sah and A. Jeremiah came in
during the closing stages of our innings
and made a contribution towards the total
of 267 runs on the scoreboard.
The home team was given a rude shock when
the opposition began tearing apart the
bowling attack in the early stages of
their innings. However, A. Bhatt and A.
Choubey kept their heads and did not
allow their earlier reverses to affect
their bowling. Their lion-hearted efforts
were rewarded with their picking up three
and four wickets apiece, as the visitors
crumbled to 58 for 7.
Special mention must be made of some good
fielding in the outfield which assisted
the bowlers in putting Sherwood in the
driver's seat. H. S. Bhattacharya took a
spectacular catch while A. Jeremiah and
S.S. Gill, too, earned kudos for their
catches.
In the end, it was combined achievement
of all sixteen players throughout the
season that resulted in this victory, as
well as a successful season.
Dhruv B. Paul
XII A
The Sherwood Run
"Your body cries, 'Stop!'; your mind
urges, 'Go on!'" That is the
marathon - a sport that demands a desire
to excel against oneself.
Renamed The Sherwood Run in 1998, it has
played an important part the
character-building exercises that the
school incorporates in its curriculum -
it is a sport more for the strong -
hearted than the talented, a challenge to
the spirit more than the body.
The qualifications for the race were held
on May 2nd, 2002. The air was
electrifying as the marathoners set out
to give that one important point to their
respective houses. In the history of the
past runs, a mere point had been the
vital decider in the final house
positions. A happy augury was the high
number of qualifiers in the 'A' and 'B'
divisions - a change from the usual
trend. At the end of the day, L.J. led
the field, with a total of 51, and R.H.
at 48, A.D. at 45 and F.T. at 44, close
behind.
Nerves were evident on the day of the
final run, May 4th, with many of the
favoured runners not turning in the
performances expected of them.
It was soon apparent that A.D. and F.T.
were in close contest, judging from the
red shirts and the blue shirts at the
finish line.
'D' division was led by Prakash Yadav
(A.D.), who remained unchallenged, but
the 'C' division marathon had been a
neck-to-neck struggle, with boys from all
the houses battling to register the
rewarding positions, the stiff
competition ending with the first
position being won by Hanumant
Raghuvanshi (A.D.).
Stiff competition marked the 'B' division
run as well, although Tushar Rudra (F.T.)
in the lead left the others far behind.
S. Kumar (L.J.) was in second and S.
Singh (A.D.) third.
R.H. dominated in the 'A' division, which
was won comfortably by Akshay Jeremiah (R.H.)
ending strongly, closely followed by
K.R.S. Bhatti (R.H.). The bronze medal
was won by G. Bajetha (A.D.).
At the end of the eventful day, A.D. was
declared the champion house, with the
maximum (115) points, having nosed out
F.T. who stood at 110, L.J. at 97, while
R.H. finished fourth with 92 points. In
Horsman Wing, the results were reversed,
with the trophy being bagged by R.H.
The individual rankings in the various
divisions were as follows:
'A' Division :
Record: A. Gangola (16:44",1997)
1. A. Jeremiah (18:21")
2. K.R.S. Bhatti
3. G. Bajetha
4. P. Sah
5. A. Sah
6. H.V. Pant
7. W. Dorji
8. S. Upreti
9. A. Nagpal
10. G.S. Kanwal
'B' Division :
Record: M.S. Bisht (12:57",1983)
1. T. Rudra (13:55")
2. S. Kumar
3. S. Singh
4. R.R. Siddharth
5. S. Shobhit
6. K. Jain
7. A. Jha
8. S. Sah
9. S. Grover
10. A. Kapoor
'C' Division:
Record : D.N.A. Mountford
(11:22",1985)
1. H. Raghuvanshi (11:58")
2. A. Rudra
3. A. Dar
4. J.S. Thandi
5. K. Gupta
6. C. Kumar
7. P.K. Jha
8. R. Gupta
9. A.S. Sandhu
10. U.S. Bais
1. P. Yadav (5:14")
2. R.S. Dhillon
3. A. Shah
4. M. Mani
5. S. Agarwal
6. A. Singh
7. A. Ahlawat
8. D. Gawer
9. V. Modi
10. U. Sahni
'E' Division:
Record: S.R. Shahi (4:10",1981)
1. P.K.S. Jagati (4:12")
2. M.B. Ansari
3. A.P. Khan
4. A. Raghuvanshi
5. H. Bachhal
6. S. Whig
7. S. Sharma
8. N. Mani
9. A.S. Cheema
10. A. Vij
In his concluding address, the Principal
congratulated all the participants who
strove to attain their best, drawing a
parallel between the marathon and
challenges of life. He made special
mention of the fine spirit demonstrated
by the College Captain, who ran course
despite a longstanding problem with his
leg, demonstrating to the school, by
example, the spirit of the marathon - the
spirit of The Sherwood Run.